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Skandham-5.Chapter-3.Slokam-18.Since I cannot find anyone equal to Me, I shall personally expand Myself into a plenary portion and thus advent Myself in the womb of Merudevi, the wife of Maharaja Nabhi, the son of Agnidhra.This is an example of the omnipotence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although He is one without a second, He expands Himself by svamsa, His personal expansion, and sometimes by vibhinnamsa, or His separated expansion. Lord Vishnu herein agrees to send His personal expansion as the son of Merudevi, the wife of Maharaja Nabhi, who is the son of Agnidhra. The rtvijah, the priests, knew that God is one, yet they prayed for the Supreme Lord to become the son of Maharaja Nabhi to let the world know that the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is one without a second. When He incarnates, He expands Himself in different potencies.Slokam-19.Sukadeva Maharishi continued: After saying this, the Lord disappeared. The wife of King Nabhi, Queen Merudevi, w…

Sri Suka Brahmarishi said: The priests, who were even worshiped by King Nabhi, the Emperor of Bharata-varsha, offered prayers in prose [generally they were in poetry] and bowed down at the Lord’s lotus feet. The Lord of lords, the ruler of the demigods, was very pleased with them, and He began to speak as follows.The Supreme Personality of Godhead replied: O great sages, I am certainly very pleased with your prayers. You are all truthful. You have prayed for the benediction of a son like Me for King Nabhi, but this is very difficult to obtain. Since I am the Supreme Person without a second and since no one is equal to Me, another personality like Me is not possible to find. In any case, because you are all qualified brahmanas, your vibrations should not prove untrue. I consider the brāhmaṇas who are well qualified with brahminical qualities to be as good as My own mouth.The word avitatha-girbhih means “they whose spoken vibrations cannot be nu…

Skandham-5.Chapter-3.Slokam-15.O Lord, You perform many wonderful activities. Our only aim was to acquire a son by performing this great sacrifice; therefore our intelligence is not very sharp. We are not experienced in ascertaining life’s goal. By inviting You to this negligible sacrifice for some material motive, we have certainly committed a great offense at Your lotus feet. Therefore, O Lord of lords, please excuse our offense because of Your causeless mercy and equal mind.

The priests were certainly unhappy to have called the Supreme Lord from Vaikuṇṭha for such an insignificant reason. A pure devotee never wants to see the Lord unnecessarily. The Lord is engaged in various activities, and the pure devotee does not want to see Him whimsically, for his own sense gratification. The pure devotee simply depends on the Lord’s mercy, and when the Lord is pleased, he can see Him face to face. The Lord is unseen even by demigods like Lord Brahma and Lord Siva. By calling on the Supreme Lo…

Skandham-5.Chapter-3.Slokam-14.Dear Lord, unless one worships the lotus feet of great devotees, one will be conquered by the illusory energy, and his intelligence will be bewildered. Indeed, who has not been carried away by the waves of material enjoyment, which are like poison? Your illusory energy is unconquerable. No one can see the path of this material energy or tell how it is working.Maharaja Nabhi was inclined to performing great sacrifices for begetting a son. The son might be as good as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but such a material desire—be it great or insignificant—is brought about by the influence of maya. A devotee does not at all desire anything for sense gratification. Devotion is therefore explained as devoid of material desires . Everyone is subjected to the influence of maya and entangled in all kinds of material desire, and Maharaja Nabhi was no exception. Freedom from maya’s influence is possible when one engages in the service of the great devotees. With…

Dear Lord, here is the great King Nabhi, whose ultimate goal in life is to have a son like You. Your Lordship, his position is like that of a person approaching a very rich man and begging for a little grain. Maharaja Nabhi is so desirous of having a son that he is worshiping You for a son, although You can offer him any exalted position, including elevation to the heavenly planets or liberation back to Godhead.The priests were a little ashamed that King Nabhi was performing a great sacrifice just to ask the Lord’s benediction for a son. The Lord could offer him promotion to the heavenly planets or the Vaikuntam. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has taught us how to approach the Supreme Lord and ask Him for the ultimate benediction. He said: na dhanam na janam na sundarim kavitam va jagad-isa kamaye. He did not want to ask the Supreme Lord for anything material. Material opulence means riches, a nice family, a good wife and many followers, but an intelligent dev…

Dear Lord, we may not be able to remember Your name, form and qualities due to stumbling, hunger, falling down, yawning or being in a miserable diseased condition at the time of death when there is a high fever. We therefore pray unto You, O Lord, for You are very affectionate to Your devotees. Please help us remember You and utter Your holy names, attributes and activities, which can dispel all the reactions of our sinful lives.

The real success in life is( ante narayana-smrti )—remembering the holy name, attributes, activities and form of the Lord at the time of death. Although we may be engaged in the Lord’s devotional service in the temple, material conditions are so tough and inevitable that we may forget the Lord at the time of death due to a diseased condition or mental derangement. Therefore we should pray to the Lord to be able to remember His lotus feet without fail at the time of death, when we are in such a precarious condition. Continues...

Dear Lord, all the great sages who are thoughtful and saintly persons incessantly recount Your spiritual qualities. These sages have already burned up all the unlimited dirty things and, by the fire of knowledge, strengthened their detachment from the material world. Thus they have attained Your qualities and are self-satisfied. Yet even for those who feel spiritual bliss in chanting Your attributes, Your personal presence is very rare.The priests in Maharaja Nabhi’s sacrificial arena appreciated the personal presence of the Supreme Lord Vishnu, and they considered themselves very much obliged. The Lord’s appearance is rare even for great saintly persons who have become completely detached from this material world and whose hearts are clean due to constantly chanting the glories of the Lord. Such people are satisfied by chanting the transcendental qualities of the Lord. The Lord’s personal presence is not actually required. The priests are pointing out t…